Because of environmental concerns and the laws of supply and demand, there is an increasing desire to utilize so-called “alternative fuels”. In this regard, hydrogen is increasingly being considered as one such “alternative fuel”. Furthermore, hydrogen has many known uses in addition to it's role as an “alternative fuel”. In view of the foregoing, there is a desire for devices that store and release hydrogen.
In this regard, metal hydrides or alloy materials have been used for the storage and release of hydrogen because of their ability to absorb gaseous hydrogen, much like a sponge absorbs water. In simple terms, when heat is removed from the metal hydrides, chemical reactions occur and solid metal hydrogen compounds are formed thereby absorbing gaseous hydrogen. Conversely, gaseous hydrogen is released when heat is added to the metal hydrides. U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,738 issued to Iwamoto et al discloses one example of a device that utilizes metal hydrides to store and release hydrogen. While devices such as disclosed in Iwamoto et al may prove satisfactory for their intended use, there is always room for improvement.